Jewish Aviators in World War II: Personal Narratives of American Men and Women

by Bruce H. Wolk

Overview

More than 150,000 American Jews served in the air war during World War II. Despite acts of heroism and commendations, they were subject to bigotry and scorn by their fellow servicemen. Jews were sometimes characterized as disloyal and cowardly, malingering in the slanderous (and non-existent) "Jewish Quartermaster Corps" or sitting out the war in easy assignments. Based on interviews with more than 100 Jewish air veterans, this oral history features the recollections of pilots, crew members and support personnel in all theaters of combat and all branches of the service, including Jewish women of the Women Airforce Service Pilots. The subjects recall their combat experiences, lives as POWs, and anti-Semitism in the ranks, as well as human interest anecdotes such as encounters with the Tuskegee Airmen.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780786499953
Publisher:	McFarland & Company, Incorporated Publishers
Publication date:	03/24/2016
Pages:	224
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.70(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Bruce H. Wolk is a fiction and nonfiction writer living in Denver, Colorado.

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments
Foreword by Sheldon A. Goldberg
Preface
1. Where We Came From
2. The War Within
3. The Stars on My Wings—Europe
4. The Stars on My Wings—the Pacific and CBI
5. “H” Stands for Hebrew
6. My Brother’s Keeper
7. The Return
Epilogue
Appendix I: Roster of Interviewees
Appendix II: An Interview with Philip L. Elbaum, LCSW
Appendix III: The Fate of Downed Allied Airmen in Germany in World War II
Chapter Notes
Bibliography
Index

Editorial Reviews

a fascinating and unique look into the rarely covered experiences of Jewish American service personnel serving in the US Air Forces as aviators during World War II...truly a treasure of remarkable World War II stories from a perspective rarely heard. Every military historian and Jewish War Veteran should have a copy in his/her library!”—The Jewish Veteran.

From the Publisher